This article represents a first communication of the accumulated reflections of a group of educators on their experience with the Piá Project. The Piá Project is a self-managed project in education constituted by students of the University of São Paulo who, motivated by the development of a conception of education and a praxis that go beyond the current school molds, have been carrying out their activities since the end of 1997. Having as one of its principles the public character of education, the Piá Project today serves at no cost 45 children from the Barra Funda area, using two spaces: the Child Education Space - for children from two to six years of age - and the Complementary Education Space - for seven or more year old children. The reflections presented in this article start from what we call the vicissitudes of the praxis, in which we describe our trajectory in education, the formulations and reformulations experienced by the project, the impasses we faced, and we propose discussions we feel to be important when we talk about an education truly dedicated to the formation of subjects. The result is a narration, part history, part theories and questions, that gradually sketches our experience, which we hope will raise questions in other researchers' minds about the (im)possibilities of education.
Education and emancipation; Critical theory and education; Extra-school education; Education and engagement